Peerless Industries to Create 85 New Jobs with Move to Aurora

CHICAGO – February 28, 2010. The State of Illinois today announced that Peerless Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of audio/visual mounting solutions, will maintain their operations in Illinois and add at least 85 new jobs to its current 405-person workforce over the next three years. Peerless will move operations from two campuses in Melrose Park to a single larger facility in Aurora beginning in May. The state provided a $2.9 million investment package to leverage nearly $17.5 million in private investment to facilitate the move.

“Peerless Industries is a valuable member of the Illinois business community. Losing the company to an out-of-state location would have put hundreds of people out of work and prevented Illinois from gaining new jobs,” said Governor Pat Quinn. “This is yet another example of how we’re using available resources to create more jobs and strengthen our economy.”

The company’s relocation follows a 2009 decision by Peerless management to return all manufacturing jobs to the U.S. after four years during which 30 percent of the company’s products were produced in China. Those jobs moved back to the U.S. late last year after Peerless finalized plans to relocate to Aurora to consolidate operations, upgrade to a more modern and energy-efficient facility, and provide room for physical expansion.

“We were considering moving to Indiana, which was also offering us an incentive package, or to Mexico, where we have a small warehouse and sales office. But our roots in Illinois date back almost 70 years, and we wanted to stay here if it was economically feasible,” said Michael A. Campagna, President/COO of Peerless Industries. “The incentives we received from the state played a major role in our decision to remain in Illinois and make the investment in our new property.”

The state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will administer the business investment package, which will consist of Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credits over a 10-year period and Employer Training Investment Program funds.

The new Peerless headquarters will be located at 2300 White Oak Circle in Aurora. The 307,813- square-foot facility sits on 22.5acres and has 30-foot clear ceilings, 35 exterior docks, 400 parking places and LEED green building certification.

Peerless plans to add 22,000 square feet of office space shortly after occupancy, and has room on the property to add 180,000 square feet of manufacturing space over the long term. The company also plans to further increase the building’s strong environmental rating by installing solar panels and turbine windmills to generate power for the facility, switching to highly efficient T5 fluorescent lighting, and recycling heat produced by its powder coating ovens to heat the plant in the winter.

Over the past 68 years, Peerless has moved four times and doubled its space with each move. More than 1.37 million of the company’s mounting solutions for flat panel TVs, projectors, speakers and A/V equipment were installed in North America alone in 2009.

About Peerless Industries, Inc.

Peerless Industries is a 68-year old designer, manufacturer and distributor of A/V solutions including flat panel mounts, projector mounts, carts/stands, furniture, cables, screen cleaners and a full assortment of accessories. Peerless manufactures over 3,600 products that serve original equipment manufacturers, retailers and commercial installers in 25 vertical markets through direct salespeople and authorized distribution. For more information, visit www.peerlessmounts.com or follow @PeerlessMounts on Twitter www.twitter.com.